Egodath Megodath Lyrics by Punsiri Soysa

Joining the villages on this bank and the far bank,
the bridge now stands built, watching and waiting,
until you step across to me,
until you step across to me.

Why would you think of climbing into the old broken boat as before
and trying to cross to the other side,
like someone who has lost their senses,
like someone who has lost their senses?

This bank and that bank…/

Blossom-laden trees, fields and gardens in full bloom
seem to be speaking their blessings over us.
Come now, your anklets ringing as you walk,
come now, your anklets ringing as you walk.

This bank and that bank…/

A young man stands at a river, and he has built a bridge across it. He is waiting for the woman he loves to walk over it to him. The whole song is that wait, gentle, sure, full of hope, while he watches the path between them and longs to see her take the first step.

The bridge is the heart of it. In village life a river splits a place in two, and the two banks can feel like two separate worlds. Here the man says the bridge he raised has already joined the villages on both sides, “this bank and that bank” are no longer apart. The bridge is more than wood and rope. It stands for the bond he has made between his life and hers, the safe, settled way for them to come together at last. So when he says the bridge waits and watches until she crosses, he means everything is ready now, all that is left is for her to choose him and walk over.

The old broken boat in the second verse is the contrast that gives the song its tenderness. He pleads with her not to risk the rickety boat the way people used to, the dangerous, uncertain old way of crossing, as if she had lost her senses. Why take the frightening route when there is now a strong bridge built just for her. Underneath the image he is saying: trust what I have made for you, you do not have to struggle or take chances anymore, come to me the easy, sure way.

Then the land itself joins in. The trees heavy with flowers and the fields and gardens in bloom seem to be giving their blessing to the two of them, the way a Sri Lankan listener pictures the whole countryside smiling on a union. He ends by calling her forward with one of the most loved images in Sinhala song, the soft ring of the anklets on her feet as she walks. It lets us almost hear her coming. The song closes still in that moment of waiting, but it is a happy waiting, a man who has done all he can and now simply hopes to see her cross the bridge toward him.